Stocking foot



Patented Dec. 18., 1945 Es Peri*Iflffjlsl'rv oFF-1 CE .STbGKINeFloor in' Guenther. vI-asket, NewYork, v -'Application Angustia,1942,.seria1,N0.4'5 4',4a2

s ciaimsg (o1. 36-10) invention relatesto improvements. in articles oflfootwear, and,more particularly, to`

stocking feet ending at or below theA ankle of the Weares foot.`r g. A

'Sucnstocking feet may be worn .underneath or' over ordinary"stockingsor socks, or without stockings, depending upon Athe' purpose. .Forinstance, a 'stocking foot'l may be used when lapplying a'medication"forholdingv the latterV in place, or for'pro'tecting a.vstocking properfr'm being affectedthereby. stocking footfmax'r also'ser'v'e'io'r reducing the wearer Van ordinary stock ing., A stockingfoot m'ayal'so be favorable" asv an 'additional liningv or filling.vwhenfvlfe'afrir'ig'- sport fshoe's,'ski."shoes] and' the" like.'vLastly', such stockingv feetl are worn for reasons of fashion,v

especially for 'provi'dir'g` rrorefconifoit when wearing shoes without'visible' socks or stockings.l One of the. drawbacks of the'customarystock` ing feet is their tendency to come out ofplalce.

either by sagging down into the shoe 'or bycreeping out of it, i causingdiscomfort' Y or ,dis-' orderly appearance. rIt has been suggested toprovide the opening 'of stocking feet with ahem Ycontaining elastic bandvorto line -the'fheel portion 'with relatively 'rigid material in order.

Y to prevent the'stocking heel from creeping up-` wardly arid out of theshoe. Both 'means are imperfect as regardscomfort and app'earancaf Itlisan object" of', my invention, in one of `its' aspects, toimprovestocking feet forithe above-1 mentioned purposes so as vtoeliminate .discomfort'. due to l `Jca1ized' y elastic orri'gid pressure'while providing a snug t anda tendency 'of the' article to stay inproper place on' the'wearers" foot,vl

Another object' ,of the. invention is to provide new" cuts for blanks'which' 'are' 'easy 'to fabricate and atthesame timev to 'ensurea'very'snug'and even tV over atleast the' entire heel,\tendon andj archportion of the wearers `foot.' A further object oftheinvention vis thepro` visionjof stocking feetapplicable 'and 'especially designed for v`open-heel;shoes,r sandals andf'the like footwear.k AThe,knownstockir'ig'Yfeet cannot' Well befworn Awith 'shoes of thesejtypesrbecausevth'e'heei and middieportions of the stocking `feet would bervisiblethrough theopenings Vandiriten" stices of these shoe constructions@ Anobject Yis also to simplifythe stocking feet to be Worniinjcases wherethe protection of' the tee portion of'ordinary stockings or the application of medications tol thetoes or ba'llsisl the'i main purpose.

The inventionlwi-ll l be'v understood freni :the

embodiments described hereinafter in connectionwith the drawing in whichv Y Y Fig. l is aperspective View of a stocking 'foot embodying featuresof the invention;

Figs. f2v and 3 rare representations. of two blanks, shown in developedform,A used in. fabri' eating a stocking footfsuchas shown in Figgl;

flig .4v is a view of the stocking foot o'flig. 1, foldedflat upon atable showing the *relative position cf thetwoblanks of Figs. 2 and 3properly joined together; ."lig.' 51s asideview-of another embodiment,shown fo1dednat;` Y w Fig, 6 illustrates the same article, opened up',and rr aperspective View; and

Fig. 7 is aperspective'view of a further embodiment.

Referring to Figs. l, 2,.'3 and 4, .the stocking foot hereillustratediscomp'osed of two blanks I and 2,

curved line pointed 'at towards. 'the long straight tge'f y The twoblanks arecut aterial such rial.' The .blank 2, destined to form theheel per from textile-or the:V like:

tionof the stocking foot, consists of a material" .with differentdegrees' of'stretch in different.

directions. I prefer using knit material which has greatest stretch inone direction and 1s relatively;A yielding at right angles thereto.

Forpurposes of'illu'str'ation, areasY I6 have been depicted as knittedareas 'in blank 'I, and areas I1, have been indicated as 'knitted areasin,

blank 2. VThe material is so arranged when cutfA ting the blank 2that'the greatest stretch extends in lthe direction ofthe arrow 25. Theblank I,

forming the toe' 'andballjportion of thestocking foot, consistspreferably' of the same material. However, the cut'is 'so directedthatthe greatest stretch of blank I extends substantially as indicated kbythe 'arrow I5, i. e. at right angles to the stretch of the heel `blank2. This is further demonstrated by thefact' that the wavy linesof areasI6 are transversely dispo sed to the' wavy lines of areas I1 in Figs. 1and 2.

yWhen assembling the two folded along lthe line A-B so as to form acrease between ythose points. Now, theftwo half-arcsas woven or.preferably vknit mate-j blanks, blank I is` lie flat on one another,with the outer peripheral edges II and I2 in registry with each other,as the inner peripheral edges I3 and I4 are in registry with each other.Consequently, end points D and F are in registry with each other, as areend points E and G, as is apparent from Fig. 4. Then, the edges II andI2 are joined together, preferably by sewing, along the entire arcuateportion of the outer periphery so as to form a seam extending from pointA to points E and G. This seam is denoted by 3 .in Fig. 1.

The next step of manufacture is to attach blank 2 to blank I so that thelong edge 2I joins the ends 26 and 21 of blank I as indicated in Fig.

4. As a result, the short edges 22 and 23 `form a continuation of theedges I3 and I4, respectively, of the blank I. Finally, the two'portions of the curved edge 24 are joined togetherso as t0 form a seamextending from point C` upwardly to the registering points H and I. The.latter seam appears in Fig. 1 at 4. Scams 3 and 4 extend in thelongitudinal and axial directions of the finished article, vwhile theseam resulting from the joining together of the tWo blanks extendstransversely as is apparent in Fig. 1 at 5. The sequence of the foldingand joining operations can, of course, be varied without affecting theresult. Likewise, the heel blank 2, if cut in the then proper directionrelative `to the stretch of the material, may also be arranged so thatthe long edge 2I forms the continuation of the iines I3 and I4 while theshort edges 22 and 23 abut against the ends D-E land F-G, respectively,.0f blank I.

The finished stocking foot has the following properties. The heelportion is elastic in the horizontal or longitudinal direction of thefoot of the wearer, but virtually unstretchable in the'verticaldirection, as appears from the wavylines of stretch of area II. Thefront portion of the article, however, is inherently `elastic in the`vertical direction, as appears from the wavy lines of stretch of areasIB.- Owing to the horizontal pull acting in theheel portion when worn,vthe latter is tightly held lagainst thev wearers foot, but its verticalinelasticity prevents Vit from creeping vertically. As a result, thestocking foot is elastically held in place merely by the inherentdiiferences in stretchability of the material. This suices, as

a rule, to obtain the desired advantages without' requiring additionalholding means, `although such means may also be employed additionallyif, for instance, special requirements aref-to be met.

For instance, the rim of the stocking'foot may be rreinforced byhemstitching, bias tape or van elastic band, or a reinforcingA liningmay be arranged at the upper end of the heel portionas is indicated at 6in Fig. 1. Such a lining, however, may besmaller and lower thanheretofore customary, as it need not contribute to holding the articlein place and should not Ainterferey with the .eiectof the verticallyelastic heel portion.

When providing the stocking shoe with an elastic rim portion, advantagecan be taken of another feature of my invention also embodied in theexample illustrated in Fig. l. According `to this illustration, theupper :rim of the foot opening, `at least along the edges I3 and I4 (see1 .and 2)., is-formed 'by a downwardly extending peripheral zone I ofincreased horizontal elasticity (elongation) in order .to obtain a snugtover the entire arch and tendon area of the ar-v ticle. This increased.elongation can be `.obtained by corresponding knitting methods,forinstance. It is preferable,.however, to provide thev material withelastic threads or strands, such as rubber bands, which surround thefootopening partially or wholly, each extending substantially in ahorizontal direction when in proper wearing position. The strands are soimbedded or otherwise integrated with the material and cover arelatively extensive area that they are not visible as such and cannotcause localized pressure or warping of the material. The strands lyingcloser to the opening are shorter than those farther away so that thearticle tends to adapt itself closely'and evenly to the foot of thewearer without exerting localized pressure at any point of the area.

The last-mentioned feature of my invention contributes to improving thehorizontal pull cn the vertically elastic heel portion of the stockingfoot. It will be understood, however, that even without this feature astocking foot as described above is ordinarily suiiicient to ensure goodwearing qualities, and in this respect is superior to the known articlesofthis type. 0n the other hand, the use of an elastic area of downwardlyincreas-A ing length or diameter, as described Vin the foregoing, mayalso be applied with advantage to other constructions of stocking feet.This will be apparent from Figs. v5 to 7 of the drawing.

The stocking foot shown in Figs. 5 and 6 covers thetoe and ball portionof the wearers foot while leaving the heel portion and part of themiddle portion open. The Varticle can be formed of a single blank,having a bag-like front lportion 8v and a strap-like rear portion 9. Thestrap 9' serves merely to hold the toe portion in place and is coveredby the shoe. structure when worn. An elastic area I0 is provided inaccordance with theA description given in connection with Figs. 41 and2. Another elastic area Ill extends around the lower rim of the article.

Articles according to Figs. 5 and 6 are advantageous when themainpurpose is to protect the most affected parts, i. e., the toeportion, of an ordinary stocking, or when wearing no stockings andheelless shoes or sandals.

'7 .represents the use of an elastic area 3l asset forth .above inConnection with a stocking foot 3 0 of any suitable construction, forinstance a one-blank or circular-knit article. The zone 3l contains amultiplicity of elastic. Strands surrounding the foot opening., eachouter strand.in

the worn state as well as relaxed, having greater length than theadjacent inner oneso that the shape of the elastic arch and tendon areafollows closely the shape of the corresponding area ofthe wearers foot.i

I claim:

1. Av separate and distinct manufacture, consisting of a stocking foot,the stocking foot comprising a section for encasing the toes and thefoot rearwardly therefrom to substantially the ball of the foot, andmeans for engagement around the foot at `the heel but well above thesole of the foot, thev engagement means and the.

section cooperating to provide an opening for inserton of the foot into'said section and an opening for projection of the heel of the footbelow.

said engagement means, said section and engagementmeans having lines ofgreater elasticity in zones immediately adjacent theedgesof the openingsthan inzones removed from said edges.

2. A separate and distinct manufacture, con-v sisting of a stockingfoot, the stocking foot comprising a section `for encasing the toes andthe foot rearwardly therefrom to substantially the ball of the` foot,and means integral-withsaid. section for engagement around the foot atthe heel but well above the sole of the foot, the engagement means andthe section co-operating to provide an opening for insertion of thefoot4 into said section and an opening for projection of the heel of thefoot below said engagement means, said section and engagement meanshaving lines of greater elasticity in zones immediately adjacent theedges of the openings than in zones removed from said edges.

3. A separate and distinct manufacture, consisting of a stocking foot,the stocking foot comprising a section for encasing the toes and thefoot rearwardly therefrom to substantially the ball of the foot, andmeans for engagement around the foot at the heel but well above the soleof the foot, the engagement means and the section co-operating toprovide an opening for insertion of the foot into said section and anopening for projection of the heel of the foot below said engagementmeans, the section and the engagement means being formed of a singlepiece of material, said section and engagement means having lines ofgreater elasticity in vzones immediately adjacent the edges of theopenings than in zones removed from said edges.

4. A separate and distinct manufacture, consisting of a stocking foot,the stocking foot comprising a section for encasing the toes and thefoot rearwardly therefrom to substantially the ball of the foot, andmeans for engagement around the back of the foot only between the heeland the ankle, the engagement means and the section co-operating toprovide an opening for insertion of the foot into said section, saidsection and engagement means having lines of greater elasticity in zonesimmediately adjacent the edges of the opening than in Zones removed fromsaid edges.

5. A separate and distinct manufacture, consisting of a stocking foot,the stocking foot comprising a section for encasing the toes and thefoot rearwardly therefrom, and means for engagement around the back ofthe foot only between the heel and the ankle, the engagement means andthe section co-operating to provide an opening for insertion of the footinto said section, said section and engagement means having lines ofgreater elasticity in zones immediately adjacent the edges of theopening than in zones removed from said edges.

6. A separate and distinct manufacture, consistingof a stocking foot,the stocking foot comprising a section for encasing the toes and thefoot rearwardly therefrom to substantially the' ball of the foot, andmeans for engagement around the back of the foot between the heel andthe ankle, the engagement means and the section co-operating to providean opening for insertion of the foot into said section, said section andengagement means having lines of greater elasticity in zones immediatelyadjacentl the edges of the opening than in zones removed from saidedges, the lines of elasticity being greater in length at a greaterdistance from the edges. GUENTHER KASKET.

